SciClone's ZADAXIN Added to Asian Pacific Consensus Recommendation for Treatment of Hepatitis B.SAN MATEO, Calif. -- SciClone Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (Nasdaq:SCLN SCLN Sciclone Pharmaceuticals Inc. SCLN Semicolon SCLN Scottish Community Land Network SCLN Speech Language Communication Needs (special education) ) today announced that its lead product ZADAXIN(R) was added to the Asian Pacific consensus recommendation for the treatment of patients infected with the hepatitis B Hepatitis B Definition Hepatitis B is a potentially serious form of liver inflammation due to infection by the hepatitis B virus (HBV). It occurs in both rapidly developing (acute) and long-lasting (chronic) forms, and is one of the most common chronic virus (HBV HBV hepatitis B virus. HBV abbr. hepatitis B virus ). The Asian Pacific consensus recommendation is not a regulatory approval, but instead the recommendation of a team of Asia's leading hepatologists that was ratified at the recent meeting of the Asian Pacific Association for the Study of the Liver. Approximately 75% of the 350 million people chronically infected with HBV worldwide live in Asia. The Asian Pacific consensus recommendation includes pegylated or regular interferon, lamivudine, adefovir dipivoxil adefovir dipivoxil Hepsera Pharmacologic class: Nucleotide reverse transcriptase inhibitor Therapeutic class: Antiviral Pregnancy risk category C FDA Boxed Warningand ZADAXIN (thymosin ThymosinA polypeptide hormone synthesized and secreted by the endodermally derived reticular cells of the thymus gland. Thymosin exerts its actions in several loci: (1) in the thymus gland, either on precursor stem cells derived from fetal liver or from bone alpha 1) for the treatment of chronic HBV. "It is rewarding to have experts in the field of liver disease Liver Disease Definition Liver disease is a general term for any damage that reduces the functioning of the liver. Description The liver is a large, solid organ located in the upper right-hand side of the abdomen. in Asia recognize ZADAXIN's benefit in treating patients chronically infected with hepatitis B," commented Hans P. Schmid, Managing Director of SciClone Pharmaceuticals International, Ltd. "This endorsement should help our marketing efforts in the Pacific Rim countries where ZADAXIN is currently approved but not actively prescribed by physicians." ZADAXIN is approved for sale in over 30 countries internationally with 90% of sales derived from China. SciClone estimates that sales of ZADAXIN will exceed $22 million in 2004. About SciClone SciClone Pharmaceuticals is a biopharmaceutical company engaged in the development of therapeutics to treat life-threatening diseases. SciClone's lead product ZADAXIN(R) is currently being evaluated in two phase 3 hepatitis C Hepatitis C Definition Hepatitis C is a form of liver inflammation that causes primarily a long-lasting (chronic) disease. Acute (newly developed) hepatitis C is rarely observed as the early disease is generally quite mild. clinical trials in the United States. ZADAXIN is also being evaluated in other late-stage clinical trials for the treatment of hepatitis B and certain cancers. The company's other principal drug development candidate is SCV-07, which is currently being evaluated in pre-clinical studies for the treatment of viral and other infectious disease. For more information about SciClone, visit www.sciclone.com. |
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